" This "will be fun " I said as I took position in the combat arena that was in the park where we were , Charlotte seemed to immediately understand my intentions and took position on the opposite side of the arena. Without wasting Any more time I said : " Go Nidoran ♂ !" I said as my partner jumped and stood in front of me ready to fight
" That's a common Pokemon in this region , isn't it ? Seems reasonable for a common Trainer like you . Show them how it's done Fey ! "I shouted as I threw his Pokeball and released Fennekin .
" After all this time, it still hasn't evolved ?" I said in a low voice , truly confused as I watched my rival's Pokémon .
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Charlotte, who seemed not to hear my words, was quick to take the initiative.
" Fey , use Ember !" he shouted, extending his arm dramatically toward the battlefield.
The little Fennekin inhaled deeply, and a shower of burning sparks shot out in the direction of Nidoran ♂.
" Nidoran ♂, dodge and counterattack with Poison Sting !" I replied almost reflexively.
My companion reacted instantly, its hind legs pushing hard against the ground as it slid to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack. From its mouth, it launched a series of purple spikes that flew swiftly towards Fennekin .
"Spin, Fey !" Charlotte ordered with a cocky grin, "and use Tail Whip to deflect!"
Fennekin gracefully spun around, her tail flashing for a moment as she used it to try and deflect the spikes from my Pokemon 's attack . Some of them went astray, but if you paid attention you could see small spikes getting stuck in her tail, causing a purple aura to surround the rival Fennekin.
It seemed Charlotte immediately understood what happened as she gritted her teeth and said, "Poisoned? Tsk ..." I smiled once again feeling grateful for having chosen Nidoran ♂, the poison effect had helped me overcome most of my battles even when the odds were against me.
"Good job, Nidoran ♂. Now come closer and use Double Kick !
Charlotte reacted immediately and shouted, "Back off and use Ember again!"
The orders were exchanged at the same time, Nidoran ♂ ran like a bullet, his body lowered and he jumped ready to strike, the rival Fennekin panicked and launched another flame, this time with greater urgency, The flames grazed Nidoran ♂, stopping him for a second, but it was not enough.
Nidoran ♂ 's hind legs connected cleanly with Fennekin 's side , and the impact sent her staggering. The second, almost like a sentence, managed to hit and send the rival Pokémon far away .
The little Fennekin couldn't hold on any longer and ended up fainting when he landed, Charlotte clicked her tongue again and shouted: " Fey , come back!"
"This isn't over yet, Fletch , it's your turn!"
He threw his Ultra Ball into the air, and out of it came the cheerful Fletchling who didn't take a second to fly towards me as if he wanted to land on my shoulder again.
" Fletch , no! Concentrate!" Charlotte shouted, visibly irritated.
Fletchling seemed to hesitate, but returned to the air and twirled gracefully over the field. Charlotte wasted no time.
"Use Quick Attack and then Peck !"
Before I could react, Fletchling turned into a silver blur and charged at Nidoran ♂, who had no time to dodge. The blow was precise but didn't do much damage since my Nidoran ♂ was barely pushed back, suddenly the rival's beak lit up trying to land the second attack but my experienced Nidoran ♂ responded with its own Peck without me having to order anything, the attacks clashed for a second before the rival Fletching had to retreat and take distance.
For a moment I was surprised, that Fletchling hasn't been born long and it already showed that potential, I understand that Flying Pokemon have a big advantage in terms of speed, but Charlotte's Fletchling definitely has good genes to be able to hit my Nidoran ♂ with its first attack even though it has more experience in battle.
" Nidoran ♂, come back. You did a great job."
I said calmly as I returned Nidoran ♂ to his Pokeball , honestly I could finish this with my Starter Pokemon but the purpose of this battle was to know the range of my new Pokemon .
"It's your turn, Ralts !"
The small Pokémon stepped forward from where it was and positioned itself on the field with a somewhat fearful expression, looking nervously at Fletchling . The bird hovered above it, waiting for instructions.
" Are you playing with me?" Charlotte said angrily. "Come on, Fletch , Aerial Ace !
It was too fast, an attack almost impossible to dodge, I don't know how much the MT needed for his Pokemon to know that attack at such a low level cost him, but it seemed like he used it masterfully.
Not wanting to repeat the same mistake I made with Nidoran ♂ I quickly shouted to Ralts to counterattack:
"Use Confusion!"
A Psychic aura surrounded Ralts before enveloping Fletchling , stopping him in his tracks before he was about to charge, leaving him suspended in the air, not knowing what to do.
I could see a trace of fear in Charlotte as her eyes widened.
Ralts was trembling, she didn't seem very used to using her Psychic energy but she remained focused. She slowly turned her head towards me, seeking approval.
I smiled back at him, I'm definitely a lucky guy if he's able to pull off such an attack even with his low skill level and inexperience. "Spin it and let it go!" I said energetically.
With a small sound, Ralts moved his head, Fletchling began to spin uncontrollably in the air as if caught in an invisible current and was thrown hard against the ground.
A cloud of dust rose, and when it cleared, Fletchling lay weakly on the ground. He staggered to his feet… and then collapsed unconscious.
He may have quite a bit of potential with that incredible speed, but he hasn't been around long enough to be born. It's incredible that he's already in fighting condition at such a young age, even more so that he can learn an attack through TM.
Charlotte gritted her teeth before returning to her Pokémon . "It can't be..."
Ralts ran excitedly toward me, her crest flickering happily as she jumped for joy. I bent down to meet her and hugged her gently.
"You did amazing, baby. I'm so proud of you."
Charlotte approached walking slowly, her face tense but without the typical anger of always, She held out her hand to me with her Trainer card , although without looking me directly in the eyes.
"Guess you won this time. Enjoy your two thousand Pokedex ," he said softly.
I took it with a smile, waiting for the characteristic sound of payment being made before adding: "It wasn't a coincidence, it was training and strategy."
She snorted before facing me.
"You say that as if I don't train enough! Almost every day I go out with my group and my Pokémon on missions to level up ! " he said angrily while looking me straight in the eyes.
"Are you really in a group? That would explain why, after all this time, your Fennekin still hasn't evolved," I said quietly, more to myself than to answer her.
Charlotte looked momentarily confused before speaking. " Do you go out on your missions alone? You saw what happened to me when I was alone in Viridian. " Forest, even though he was very close to the safe zone, all the Trainers travel in groups when they go on a trip!" he said the last part in a higher-pitched voice than usual.
I actually thought that group trips were rare, at least in the anime most of the occasional characters were Trainers who traveled on their own, with the protagonist's group being one of the few exceptions, but when I arrived in this world and after talking to several Trainers during my internship at the Pokemon Center I found out that the most common thing is for all Trainers who leave the cities to go in groups to protect themselves from any threat they might encounter from other Trainers with bad intentions or even Pokemons too powerful to face alone.
"I prefer to move alone, I know it's more dangerous but I have a goal and I need my Pokemons to get stronger as quickly as possible" I said resolutely while Charlotte looked at me with some disappointment
"It's your grave Maxwell, that's the mistake all newbies make including me, but I hope things work out for you, I'd hate for you to die before I even had a chance to get my money back."
Clarisse said with a smile as she turned to leave, seeing that she was walking away from the park, I raised my hand in farewell and shouted:
"Do n't let being a loser make you a stranger! I hope to see you soon ! "
I said while chuckling while looking at Charlotte who turned around in a daze to see me with slightly pink cheeks before starting to run hastily out of the park.
The park fell silent after Charlotte's departure. Only the sound of the trees swaying in the wind accompanied my thoughts. Ralts was still by my side, staring at the site of the battle as if reliving every moment.
"She has character," I commented quietly, half smiling.
Ralts turned his head toward me, his crest vibrating faintly, as if he shared my thought.
I bent down and gently stroked her head.
"You did really well back there, really. I'm sorry I brought you into a fight like this so early, but... I needed to know how ready you are."
Ralts lowered her head slightly, not in shame, but rather thoughtfully. I noticed in her eyes the doubt, the insecurity of someone who wasn't sure of her place yet, but also the spark of someone who wanted to prove her worth.
"We still have time, little one. A couple more battles today and we can call it a day."
I said with a smile as we looked for our next opponent.
The rest of the day passed without many setbacks, I faced two more rookie Trainers in the park until Ralts gave the signal that she was tired, it would take her time to get to Nidoran 's pace ♂ of facing several rivals in a single day but I could see that she didn't lose the motivation to continue training which made me very happy.
Ralts back to his Pokeball and walked towards the park exit with Nidoran ♂ accompanying me, along the way several Trainers stopped to look at me and even pointed at me.
"He is the Hero of Viridian Forest " some whispered with a look of respect or curiosity while others with a jealous expression commented on my Ralts Shiny who in his own words was too good for me.
I had to admit that Ralts was made to be a rising star, she had a lot of Psychic potential that she showed by sweeping the floor with all the enemies she faced today without receiving a single attack and because she was Shiny she attracted attention wherever she went, she would just have to work on her resistance and she would quickly become a pillar of my team along with Nidoran ♂.
My path to the championship felt closer and closer with the luck I had.
With that idea in mind and a smile on my face I was quickly stopped when I almost collided with a red-haired Trainer who was walking with a Deino , the Pokemon although it had a carefree air also gave the impression of being very strong.
The Trainer saw how I was lost in my thoughts looking at his Pokemon before speaking: " hahaha almost everyone in this region reacts the same when they see my partner, nice to meet you my name is Andrew, by chance are you Maxwell?" he said the last thing while looking me from head to toe and fixed his attention on Nidoran ♂ who Protectively stood in front of me between the Deino and me.
"Nice to meet you Andrew, I didn't mean to pay too much attention but that Deino is quite unusual around here, in particular you don't find many Pokemon " Dragon in this region," I said thoughtfully before realizing and speaking again hurriedly; "Wait , how do you know who I am?"
Andrew smiled with a confident expression, as if he'd already expected my reaction. His Deino tilted its head, curious , and let out a low, but unhostile, growl. It was an interesting duo.
"Well, it's not like you're exactly discreet, you know. It's not common in this region for people with brown hair like you to have. Almost everyone has black hair or a variation of black," Andrew replied, shrugging. "Apart from the fact that you saved that group of Trainers in Viridian. " Forest, your name is everywhere and many people talk about how you look and what Pokemon you have, that's why I barely noticed your hair and your Pokemon and it was very easy to know who you were."
"My hair ?" I repeated, instinctively bringing my hand to my head. I had never thought that my hair color would be such a distinctive detail, but of course, now that she mentioned it, it made sense. Since I arrived in this region I had only met Mother Clarisse and Brock with a hair color similar to mine, not counting Charlotte who is originally from another region, most of the people I had interacted with had dark or neutral tones.
Andrew, alarmed at my momentary discomfort, spoke:
"Don't worry, it's not a bad thing, in fact it helped me a lot to locate you, originally I'm not from this region, I was actually born in Johto." But I decided to start my journey in this city, I intend to train with Deino a little before earning my first Badge and I heard several rumors of a rookie Trainer who entered the Viridian Forest and I rescue several Trainers , to tell the truth I have to go into that forest for personal reasons and I thought it would be better if I go in the company of someone who has already been there in the first place"
I was silent for a moment, processing what Andrew had just said. There was something about his direct, unadorned tone that I liked. He wasn't trying to impress me or compete from the start; he just told it like it was.
"Do you want me to accompany you to Viridian? " Forest ? "I asked cautiously.
Andrew nodded and crossed his arms with a serious expression.
"Yes, but I'm not asking you to protect me or anything like that, just that we will collaborate, I can take care of myself and Deino "
He said, patting the Pokémon on the head who growled softly, satisfied.
I sighed, looking down for a second before answering.
"I don't consider myself anything special, Andrew. I just did what I had to do when I saw other Trainers in trouble. I didn't go into the forest expecting to become the "Hero of Viridian " like some people say. It was all just a stroke of good luck."
"Exactly, and that's what makes it interesting," he replied without hesitation. "Most people would run away. You ran into danger. That tells me a lot, and if you share some of that good fortune with me, it would be even better."
I scratched the back of my neck a little uncomfortably after hearing what he said, but I couldn't deny that something inside me was ignited at the idea of returning to the forest, the amount of experience I could get there would be great, that would be the push to evolve Nidoran ♂ and level up Ralts , apart from that with a partner and with Hypno taking care of the forest it would be a much safer experience than last time,
Andrew seemed to notice my change of expression, as if he had seen that spark of emotion in my eyes, and smiling more calmly this time he spoke:
"So, is it a yes?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
After talking with Charlotte, the idea of putting together a small team to travel around the region came to mind. Perhaps one or two people to travel with would make the experience safer and wouldn't affect the experience my Pokemon get too much .
At least do a little test with Andrew on the Viridian Forest wouldn't hurt me.
I nodded slowly, crossing my arms as I looked at Nidoran ♂, who remained alert although no longer as tense in front of the Deino .
"It's a yes, but definitely not today. It's almost nighttime and my Pokémon need to rest. How about we go in two days? That's enough time to come up with a plan and get to know our strengths and weaknesses better," I said with a cautious tone.
Andrew smiled and said with a certain sparkle in his eyes, "Perfect, we're a team."
Trainer License
Trainer : Maxwell Jones
Hometown : Pewter City
Sponsorship : None
Money: $ 55,200 Pokedollars ↑ $2,400
Badges : None
Bag
5 potions –
Candy Bar 3 Rage
9 Pokeballs
1 escape rope
1 Red handkerchief ( with 20 orange berries )
-15 Spaces Available -
Pokémon
Nidoran ♂
Gender : Male
Level : 14 ↑ 1
Moves : Lewd Gaze , Peck , Focused Energy , Double Kick , Poison Sting
Ralts ✨
Gender : Female
Level : 7 ↑ 2
Movements : Disarming voice , Teleportation , Snarl , Double Team ↑
EXTRA
Pendulum necklace